Analysis of The Potatoes' Dance
Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)
(A Poem Game.)
"Down cellar," said the cricket,
"Down cellar," said the cricket,
"Down cellar," said the cricket,
"I saw a ball last night,
In honor of a lady,
In honor of a lady,
In honor of a lady,
Whose wings were pearly-white.
The breath of bitter weather,
The breath of bitter weather,
The breath of bitter weather,
Had smashed the cellar pane.
We entertained a drift of leaves,
We entertained a drift of leaves,
We entertained a drift of leaves,
And then of snow and rain.
But we were dressed for winter,
But we were dressed for winter,
But we were dressed for winter,
And loved to hear it blow
In honor of the lady,
In honor of the lady,
In honor of the lady,
Who makes potatoes grow,
Our guest the Irish lady,
The tiny Irish lady,
The airy Irish lady,
Who makes potatoes grow.
"Potatoes were the waiters,
Potatoes were the waiters,
Potatoes were the waiters,
Potatoes were the band,
Potatoes were the dancers
Kicking up the sand,
Kicking up the sand,
Kicking up the sand,
Potatoes were the dancers
Kicking up the sand.
Their legs were old burnt matches,
Their legs were old burnt matches,
Their legs were old burnt matches,
Their arms were just the same.
They jigged and whirled and scrambled,
Jigged and whirled and scrambled,
Jigged and whirled and scrambled,
In honor of the dame,
The noble Irish lady
Who makes potatoes dance,
The witty Irish lady,
The saucy Irish lady,
The laughing Irish lady
Who makes potatoes prance.
"There was just one sweet potato.
He was golden brown and slim.
The lady loved his dancing,
The lady loved his dancing,
The lady loved his dancing,
She danced all night with him,
She danced all night with him.
Alas, he wasn't Irish.
So when she flew away,
They threw him in the coal-bin,
And there he is today,
Where they cannot hear his sighs
And his weeping for the lady,
The glorious Irish lady,
The beauteous Irish lady,
Who
Gives
Potatoes
Eyes."
Scheme | a BBBcDDDcEEEfGGGfEEEhDDDHdddH IIIjIJJJIJKKKalLLadmdddm hnOOONNxpxpqdddxxxq |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101 1101010 1101010 1101010 110111 0101010 0101010 0101010 110101 0111010 0111010 0111010 110101 1010111 1010111 1010111 011101 1101110 1101110 1101110 011111 0101010 0101010 0101010 110101 10101010 0101010 0101010 110101 0100010 0100010 0100010 010001 0100010 10101 10101 10101 0100010 10101 1101110 1101110 1101110 110101 1101010 101010 101010 010101 0101010 110101 0101010 0101010 0101010 110101 1111101 1110101 0101110 0101110 0101110 111111 111111 0111010 111101 1110011 011101 1110111 01101010 01001010 011010 1 1 010 1 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,827 |
Words | 349 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 28, 24, 19 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 366 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 85 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:43 min read
- 196 Views
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"The Potatoes' Dance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37389/the-potatoes%27-dance>.
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